


Leaning With Intent To Fall

by milenaa



Category: Bandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-01-14
Updated: 2010-01-14
Packaged: 2019-02-11 09:41:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12932589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/milenaa/pseuds/milenaa
Summary: Pete and Joe on the run in space. Written for the no_tags challenge on LJ.





	Leaning With Intent To Fall

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the no_tags challenge on LJ (https://no-tags.livejournal.com/)

"I think we're good for now." Joe said, huddling next to Pete under the tarp that covered their stolen cruiser. Pete nodded. His radio had picked up an administration transmission while Joe had been busy crash-landing them on the side of a mountain. The official order was to shoot first and ask questions later. If they were discovered, Pete figured they'd be dead before they'd even realize it.

They were glints of recon fighters overhead now and then, but so far they were staying a safe distance away. Joe was looking at the lights too. "The debris from the cruiser must be throwing them off." he said. Pete snorted. It figured that their ship almost breaking itself apart when they hit atmosphere might be what saved them.

"It's not gonna be much help if we get stuck. I can see what we can salvage when it's light, but the cruiser might be toast." Pete said.

"There's an emergency base set up somewhere on the foot of the mountain. If we're stuck we can lie low until Patrick can send someone out here." Joe said. He curled up closer to Pete and smothered a yawn in his sleeve.

"I can take first watch." Pete said. Joe had been at the helm for almost an entire shift when the administration had caught their tail and Pete didn't need more than a few hours a night himself. 

"If I'm dead when I wake up I'll be pissed so don't screw up." Joe said and relaxed against Pete. Pete pressed a kiss against his forehead. "No dying, promise."

***

Pete didn't fall asleep. Even if he was that careless, thinking about the mess he and Joe were in was enough to keep him up. Pete's habit of getting lost in his head was what almost did him in instead. He'd gone over their supplies and tried to calculate how long they could stick around trying to repair the cruiser before they'd have to give it up and head down the mountain.

By the time he heard footsteps crunching, they were almost on top of them. Pete had been clutching the plasma gun since he'd started his watch and held it ready as he peered out of the netting of the tarp. A set of boots appeared in Pete's vision and he fired upwards without a warning. Neither the discharge from the blaster, nor the thump of the body hitting the crowd had woken Joe. Pete shook him until he opened his eyes and pressed the bag with their supplies into his hands.

"We need to go. They've sent out search troops on foot." he whispered. Joe didn't waste any time and helped Pete drag the soldier's body under the tarp. It might buy them a little extra time. "Which direction is the camp?" Pete asked. Their best shot would be to head straight for the base and hope the soldier guy hadn't brought too many of his buddies. "Down." Joe said and took point.

***

They made it half an hour before they ran into trouble again. The blue moon of Coran didn't give much light and they were stumbling down the the side of the mountain without so much as a flashlight. Pete had pulled out the held-hand scanner so they wouldn't fall down a gorge or off the side of a cliff, but smaller obstacles like rocks and shrubs didn't register.

"There's a drop ahead, we need to turn left." Joe changed their course and Pete followed cautiously, one eye still on the scanner. He was distracted by the display and missed a step, slipping on some loose rocks. Pete's head hit the ground and the dizziness from the fall stole the control from his limbs. He went rolling and sliding down the slope and went over the edge of the drop.

***

"Wake up. Damn, Pete. Up." Pete could hear Joe's whisper over the pounding in his skull. Joe's lips were almost touching his ear and his breath tickled. Pete tried to sit up and bat him away but he was hit with a wave of dizziness as soon as he moved his head. "Awake." he whispered back.

"You promised no dying, that includes scaring me to death." Joe said. He was running his hands over Pete's body, patting him down carefully. "Nothing broken." Pete reassured him. Joe kept touching him anyway, and it felt nice even though he new he had to be a mess of bruises. He relaxed into it, but Joe shook him as soon as he closed his eyes. "Don't fall asleep. You might've scrambled your brain."

"Already scrambled." Pete said.

"Okay then this shouldn't do more damage." Joe said, lifting Pete of the ground. Pete grunted at the explosion of pain behind his eyes when he moved. Mercifully, Joe only dragged him a couple of feet to the side, so they were sheltered against some rocks. He settled in next to Pete and handed him the radio, taking the blaster for himself. "See if you can find Patrick's channel. Maybe the scramblers are off now."

Pete fiddled with the controls, focusing on the display, but his headache spiked every time he tried to hold onto a thought for more than a few seconds. "Not gonna work." he told Joe. "Gonna have to wait it out."

***

Pete let himself drift, trusting Joe to keep watch and keep him from falling into a coma. By the time the sky started to grow lighter the drums in his head had eased up a little and he reached for the radio again. This time the controls didn't defeat him and Pete ran through his list of emergency channels.

"-on our way. Stay put and we'll pick you up in a couple of hours." Patrick's voice was tinny over the radio but Pete grinned and looked up at Joe, who held his hand out for a high five. "I can't wait to see my bed again. And food." Joe's stomach growled on cue. "Painkillers." Pete added. "So many painkillers."

With an end in sight, the waiting wasn't so bad. Pete listened to Joe list everything he was looking forward to enjoying when they were back in their quarters and watched the sunrise, keeping watch for Patrick's ship on the horizon.


End file.
